Kilmarnock confirm Jimmy Calderwood as boss

Kilmarnock have confirmed Jimmy Calderwood as their new manager until the end of the season. The club, who parted company with management team Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown on Monday, announced the news at a media conference at Rugby Park.

Calderwood was offered the job on Wednesday and told chairman Michael Johnston he
would give the club an answer within 24 hours. Johnston also had talks with Queen of the South manager Gordon Chisholm while contact was also reportedly made with former Scotland boss George Burley.

Killie had also approached former player Tommy McLean over a possible
short-term deal but the former Motherwell manager wanted to take charge at least
until the end of the season.

Johnston has instead moved quickly to appoint Calderwood, whose first match in
charge will come against Motherwell in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on
Saturday.

Calderwood is likely to take Jimmy Nicholl, his assistant at Dunfermline and
Aberdeen, to Rugby Park. The former NEC Nijmegen manager has been out of work since leaving Aberdeen in May, on the same day he led the Dons into Europe for the second time in five seasons.

Jefferies departed ''by mutual consent'' after almost eight years in charge,
days after skipper Kevin Kyle claimed Johnston had sought his views on the
manager's tactics.

However, Jefferies and Johnston both denied the issue had led to the
departure. A Kilmarnock statement tasked the new manager with restoring the club's
''position in the top six of the SPL and challenging for this year's Scottish
Cup''.

However, Kilmarnock - who are about £9 million in debt - sit only two points
above SPL basement club Falkirk, who they face in the fourth round of the cup.